(Gaza) Calm returned to the Gaza Strip and Israel on Sunday after the entry into force of a fragile ceasefire, which ended five days of hostilities that left 35 dead.
Cogat, the body of the Israeli Ministry of Defense overseeing civilian activities in the Palestinian Territories, announced “the partial and gradual reopening” of the Erez crossing points which allow Palestinians to transit through Israel and Kerem Shalom, the only point Israeli transit point for goods to the Gaza Strip.
The “full opening” of crossing points will be possible after further assessments of the situation, Cogat added in a statement on Sunday.
Clashes that began on Tuesday between Israel and Palestinian armed groups claimed the lives of 34 Palestinians. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 190 people were injured in Gaza. On the Israeli side, an octogenarian was killed Thursday in Rehovot, in central Israel, and 30 people were injured.
A truce brokered by Egypt, a traditional mediator between the belligerents, came into effect Saturday at 10 p.m. (3 p.m. Eastern).
In Gaza, a cramped territory where 2.3 million Palestinians live, controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas and plagued by poverty and unemployment, residents deplore the damage caused by the Israeli strikes which destroyed 51 homes and displaced some 950 people, according to the UN.
“We are on the street, there is no home for my children,” Mohammed al-Louh, 69, whose home was destroyed on Saturday in the Nuseirat refugee camp (center ).
“We ask the authorities concerned to stand by our side and provide compensation and accommodation,” added a relative.
“We breathe”
On Sunday, Israeli authorities lifted restrictions on the movement of residents living in neighboring areas, who spent several days holed up in shelters due to rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.
“We were very scared, really very scared,” said Yael, 60, from the city of Ashkelon. “Staying locked up at home for four days is very difficult […]we breathe again now,” she told AFP on the seafront of the coastal city.
Israel and Islamic Jihad pledged to respect the ceasefire, but warned that they would not hesitate to resume hostilities if the agreement was not respected by one of the parties.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday hailed a ceasefire operation executed “perfectly”. “Today the enemies of Israel in Gaza and beyond know that even if they try to hide, we can and will reach them at any time,” he said at the start of the meeting. firm.
For its part, the Islamic Jihad warned Israel against “any stupid action or assassination of Palestinian resistance commanders”.
Referring to these events during the traditional Sunday Mass at the Vatican, Pope Francis expressed the hope of a long-term ceasefire “because weapons will not bring security and stability”.
Arrests in the West Bank
If calm has returned to Gaza, clashes have taken place in the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967. The army also indicated that it had arrested in Nablus two Palestinians suspected of having opened fire on the security forces wounding two soldiers on March 25 in Huwara.
This week’s deadly escalation was the most violent between Gaza and Israel since August 2022. It began on Tuesday with airstrikes that killed three military commanders of Islamic Jihad, a movement described as “terrorist” by both United States and the European Union than by Israel.
Among the Palestinians killed are six military commanders of the Islamic Jihad, fighters of this movement, and others of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), also an armed group.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has confirmed the death of at least 13 Palestinian civilians, including seven minors.